Sewing-machine attachment for making zigzag stitches.



A. MORIN.

SEWING MACHINE ATTACHMENT FOR MAKING ZIGZAG STITGHES. APPLIOAI'ION FILED MAR. 9, 1908.

907 ,627 Patented Dec. 22, 1908.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

hwe'ntoz Arthur Morin A. MORIN. SEWING MACHINE ATTAGHMENT FOR MAKING ZIGZAG STITGHES.

AP PLIOATIO N FILED MAR.'9, 1908. 907,627, Patented Dec. 22, 1908.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

anuentoz Arthur Morin Wit/n can:

A. MORIN. SEWING MACHINE ATTACHMENT FOR MAKING I APPLICATION FILED MAR. 9, 190 907,627.

ZIGZAG STITCHES. 8

Patented Dec. 22, 1908.

s SHEETS-SHEET 3. l9

avwentbz Q Vi messes UNITED STATES ARTHUR MORIN, OF LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS.

SEWING-MACHINE ATTACHMENT FOR MAKING ZIG-ZAG STITCHES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 22, 1908.

Application filed March 9, 1908. Serial No. 420,038.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR MomN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lowell, in the county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sewing-Machine Attachments for Making Zigzag Stitches; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to sewing machine attachments and more particularly to that class designed for the purpose of forming zigzag stitches, the primary object of the invention being to provide a simple and highly efficient attachment of this class and one which may be applied to practically any sewing machine now in use.

The attachment, as'will presently be specifically pointed out in connection with the description of its elements, is so constructed that at each up stroke of the needle bar of the machine in connection with which the attachment is used, the goods being stitched will be shifted laterally and at the same time moved forwardly, the lateral shifting being had alternately in opposite directions so that as a result a stitch of zigzag character will be formed.

The principal novelty of the attachment lies in the specific means which I have devised for shifting and feeding the fabric in the manner stated.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the attachment applied to a sewing machine, Fig. 2 is a view in elevation looking at one side thereof, Fig. 3 is a similar view but looking at the opposite side, Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the attachment, Fig. 5 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through the attachment taken in a line with the feed shaft of the attachment, the shaft being illustrated in raised position in full lines and in lowered or operative position in dotted lines, Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view through the attachment in a line with the ratchet mechanism for imparting an intermittent feed to the feed shaft and illustrating in dotted lines one position of the parts and in full lines their other position, Fig. 7 is a similar view but taken to one side of the said ratchet feed mechanism but showing one only of the cam elements, Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of that portion of the attachment embodying the lateral feed mechanism showing the parts of this mechanism in one of their two positions, Fig. 9 is a similar view showing the parts in their other position, Fig. 10 is a detail perspective view of the feed shaft and some of the parts associated therewith, Fig. 11 is a detail horizontal sectional view through the pivot for one end of the link which communicates motion to the ratchet feed mechanism, and, Fig. 12 is a view of a piece of cloth showing the character of the stitches formed by usingthe attachment, Fig. 13 is a detail sectional view showing the lifter 43 hereinafter referred to.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings, there is shown the needle bar 15 of a sewing machine, the presser foot bar 16, the presser foot being detached, and base plate 17.

The attachment embodying my invention comprises a base plate 18 projecting upwardly and rearwardly from which at the rear edge thereof is a stationary arm 19 and pivoted at the junction of its arms to the upper end of the said stationary arm 19 is a bell-crank one arm of which is indicated by the numeral 20 and the other by the numeral 21, the arms being extended at right angles with respect to each other. An arm 22 is pivoted at one of its ends to the upper end of the stationary arm 19 and to the side thereof opposite to that to which the bell-crank is pivoted and this arm is formed at its free end with a bifurcation 23 which permits of the arm being engaged at its said end with the usual thumb screw 24 on the needle bar 15 of the machine. The arm 20 of the bell-crank is enlarged at its outer end and is formed in its enlarged portion with an arcuate slot 25 and engaged through a washer 26 disposed against the outer face of this portion of the arm 20, through the slot in the arm, and into a threaded opening in the arm 22 is a set screw 27 it being understood that vertical reciprocation of the needle bar will result in an oscillation of the arm 22 and consequently a similar movement of the bell-crank, the set screw 27 and the slot 25 admitting of adjustment of the bell-crank with respect to the arm 22 so that the limits of swinging movement of the vertical arm 21 of the bell-crank may be varied.

The attachment includes among other elements, a work plate 28 which is mounted upon the base plate 18 for reciprocatory movement longitudinally thereof by formthis s aft.

ing the longitudinal edges of the work plate with a bevel and engaging the plate, at its edges, between suitable guides 29 formed at intervals upon the base plate. This plate 28 carries the mechanism for shifting and feeding the fabric being stitched and these mechanisms and their cooperative relationship will now be described. An ear 30 and an ear 31 are stamped up from the late 28 and the formation of these ears resu ts in a longitudinal slot 32 in the plate, the function of which slot will be presently made apparent. The ear 31 is formed with an opening 33 in which is received the reduced end 34 of the feed shaft 35 of the device, the opening being tapered in the direction of the other ear 30 so as to ermit of a slight vertical oscillation of The other car 30 is formed with a slot 36 which opens through its upper end and which receives the shaft 35 there being a collar 37 upon the said shaft cooperating with the shoulder formed by reducing the above described end of the shaft to prevent longitudinal movement of the shaft in its bearings. At its end opposite to its reduced end, the shaft has fixed upon it a corrugated feed roller 38 which is positioned directly rearwardly of a needle slot 39 formed in the work plate 28. At its forward edge and at a point directly-in advance of the needle slot, the work plate is formed with a back bent finger 40 to which is attached a spring presser 41 the fabric engaging edge of which ears upon the upper face of the work plate 28 substantially at the forward edge of the needle slot 39 therein, the right hand edge of this spring presser being cut away as at 42 so as to expose to view the edge of the material being stitched, it being understood that the material is inserted beneath the back bent finger 40, the fabric pressing ed e of the spring presser 41, above the needle slot 39 and beneath the corrugated feed roller 38 as is clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

In order that the slight vertical oscillation of the feed shaft 35 heretofore mentioned may be had, so as to permit of the fabric being engaged with the attachment in the manner just related, a lifter 43 is pivoted upon the shaft 35 to the left hand side of the ear 30 and normally extends forwardly from the shaft although it includes a portion 44 having a squared end for cooperation with the upper face of the plate 28 it being understood that normally this squared end of the lifter is out of engagement with the late but that by raising the forward end of the lifter, a finger piece 45 being provided for this purpose, the said squared end will ride into engagement with the work plate and raise the shaft as stated as clearly shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 13 of the drawings. The feed shaft is normally held lowered and to bear against the fabric by means of a leaf spring 46 secured to the rear portion of the base plate 18 and projecting upwardly and forwardly and bearing at its free or forward end downwardly upon a polygonal collar 47 upon the feed shaft 35, this shaft being, in practice, rotated step by step and each step being of such degree as to bring a new face of the collar 47 beneath the spring 46. The free end of the spring 46 being flat and cooperating with the flat faces of the polygonal collar 47, each step by step movement of the shaft will be of the same degree and consequently the stitches formed will be of the same length. The mechanism for imparting an intermittent feed to the feed shaft is of course arranged and designed to erform the function just ascribed to the collar and spring and these two mechanisms therefore cooperate to produce this unitary result.

Fixed upon the shaft 35 for rotation therewith is a ratchet 48 and encircling this ratchet and confined between cams, which will be presently more fully described, and which are fixed upon the shaft one to each side of the ratchet, is a collar 49 formed at its upper side with a head 50. This head is formed with a recess 51 in which is seated a substantially circular head 52 on a pawl 53, the collar being designed to rotate and the pawl to ride over the teeth of the ratchet and successively engage therewith, the pawl being held for such engagement by means (if a spring 54 carried by the head, the pawl and the spring being inclosed or received between cheek pieces 55 secured to the sides of the hollow head 50. This collar 49 is rotated in the manner stated through the instrumentality of a link 56 which is pivoted at one of its ends thereto and is connected at its other end to the lower end of the arm 21 of the bell-crank, this pivotal connection being had in the following manner: The arm 21 has its longitudinal edges beveled as at 57 and a plate 58 has its ends bent at right angles as at 59 and notched as at 60 to receive the said arm the body of the plate being in this manner spaced from the arm. The rear end of the link 56 is inserted between the body of the plate and the arm as is clearly shown in the rear elevation of the drawings and in Fig. 11 thereof and a pivot screw 61 is threaded through the body of the plate and has its unthreaded ortion extended through the said rear ent of the link 56 and pointed to bite into the arm 21 to hold the plate in adjusted position upon the said arm, it being understood that the throw of the link may be adjusted by shifting the plate to various positions upon the arm.

From the foregoing it will be seen that as the needle bar is reciprocated vertically the bell-crank will be oscillated and its motion imparted, through the instrumentality of the link, to the collar 49 surrounding the ratchet 48, the feed shaft in this manner being rotated step by step and the fabric engaged beneath the feed roller 38 will be fed rearwardly in a like manner.

The instrumentalities for causing reciprocatory movement of the work plate 28 will now be described, it being embodied in the cam heretofore mentioned. These cams are indicated by the numeral 62 and each includes a plurality of laterally projecting cam fingers 63 the fingers being directed not only laterally but in a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the shaft 35. As heretofore stated, two such cams are provided, one to each side of the ratchet 48 and the fingers of one cam alternate with those of the other cam or in other words the fingers of one cam occur at points between the fingers of the other cam, the fingers of the two cams being projected in opposite lateral directions. A plate 64 is fixed upon the base plate 18 and is formed at its forward edge with forwardly projected lugs 65, located one to each side of the cams. Upon rotation of the feed shaft 35, the fingers of the two cams alternately engage with the adjacent lugs 65, and the shaft is in this manner reciprocated, together with the work plate, longitudinally.

From the foregoing description of my invention it will be seen that the fabric being stitched will be moved or fed, alternately, in an oblique line to the right and to the left. In other words, at the up stroke of the needle bar of the machine in connection with which the attachment is used, the fabric will be fed forwardly in an oblique line to the right, and at the next up stroke forwardly in an oblique line .to the left, the stitches being equal in length to the length of the feed and being of a character illustrated in Fig. 12 of the drawmgs.

The attachment is secured to the machine by means of a set screw 66 engaged through the base plate of the attachment and into the base plate of the machine, this set screw being commonly found on the machine for a like purpose. The attachment is held against play by means of small pins or studs 67 formed upon the under side of its base plate and seating in the socket in the base plate of the machine.

What is claimed, is

1. An attachment for sewing machines comprising a fixed base, a work support reciprocable laterally upon the base, a feed shaft upon the support, means for imparting an intermittent rotary movement to said shaft comprising a connection for permitting the lateral reciprocation of the feedshaft, means upon the shaft and cooperating with the fixed base for imparting a reciprocatory movement to the said support, and means operable by rotation of the shaft to impart an intermittent feed to the fabric being stitched.

2. An attachment for sewing machines comprising a fixed base, a work support reciprocable laterally upon said base, a shaft upon the support, a pawl and ratchet mechanism for imparting an intermittent rotary movement to said shaft comprising a connection for permitting the lateral reciprocation of the feed shaft, cam elements upon the shaft and cooperating with the fixed base to reciprocate said support at each step in the rotation of said shaft, and means operable to impart a step by step forward feed to the fabric being stitched at each step by step rotary movement of said shaft.

3. An attachment for sewing machines comprising a fixed base, a work support reciprocable laterally upon said base, a shaft upon the support, a fixed element upon the fixed base, means for imparting an intermittent rotary movement to said shaft comprising a connection for permitting the lateral reciprocation of the feed shaft, cam elements upon the shaft including alternately oppositely projecting cam fingers arranged to cooperate alternately and successively with said fixed element for imparting a reciprocatory movement to said support, and means for imparting a forward step by step feed to the fabric being stitched.

4. An attachment for sewing machines comprising a fixed base, a work support reciprocable laterally upon the base, means for reciprocating the support, and means operable to impart a forward step by step feed to the fabric being stitched at each reciprocation of the support, said means comprising an intermittently rotatable shaft carried by the support and movable therewith operating means for said shaft comprising a connection for permitting the lateral reciprocation of the same and a corrugated feed roller carried by the shaft.

5. An attachment for sewing machines comprising a fixed base, a work support reciprocable laterally upon the base, a shaft carried by the support and movable therewith, operating means for said shaft comprising a connection for permitting the lateral reciprocation of the same, means for imparting motion to said support, a work feeding element carried by the shaft and cooperating with the support, the shaft being capable of vertical oscillation to render said feed roller inoperative, and means whereby the shaft may be so moved.

6. An attachment for sewing machines comprising a fixed base, a work support reciprocable laterally upon the base, a shaft carried by the support and movable therewith, operating means for said shaft comprising a connection for permitting the lateral reciprocation of the same, means for imparting motion to said support, a work feeding element carried by the shaft and cooperating with the support, the shaft being capable of vertical oscillation to render said feed roller inoperative, and means upon the shaft and cooperating with said support whereby the shaft may be so moved.

7. An attachment for sewing machines comprising a stationary base, a laterally rcciprocable Work support, a shaft mounted on the work support, cams on the shaft, abutments on the base engageable with the cams for reciprocating the Work support, and means for imparting an intermittent rotary movement to the shaft comprising a connection for permitting the lateral reciprocation of the feed shaft.

8. A11 attachment for sewing machines comprising a stationary base, a laterally reciprocable Work support, a shaft mounted on the Work support, cams on the shaft, abutments on the base engageable with the cam for reciprocating the Work support, a ratchet 0n the shaft, and a pawl engageable with the ratchet, and operatively connected with the needle-bar of the machine for imparting an intermittent rotary movement to the shaft comprisin a connection for permitting the lateral reciprocation of the feed shaft.

9. An attachment for sewing machines comprising a stationary base, a laterally reciprocable Work support, a shaft mounted on the work support, cams on the shaft, abutments on the base engageable With the cams for reciprocating the Work support, and means for imparting an intermittent rotary movement to the shaft, said means including a bell-crank operatively connected to the needle-bar of the machine and alink arranged to permit the lateral reciprocation of the feed shaft.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature, in presence of tWo witnesses.

ARTHUR MORIN.

Witnesses JOHN T. MAsTERsoN, ERNEST BARBIN. 

